Ratchet screwdriver



March 12, 1963 I 0 R. ROSENBERG RATCHET SCREWDRIVER Filed Jan. 22, 1960INVENTOR.

ROSS ROSENBERG W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,080,900 RATCHETSCREWDRIVER Ross Rosenberg, Syosset, N.Y., assignor to RosenbergBrothers & Co., Smithtown, N.Y., a partnership Filed Jan. 22, 1960, Ser.No. 4,095 1 Claim. (Cl. 145-75) This invention relates to ratchetscrewdrivers and, moreparticularly, to an improved handle constructionfor such screwdrivers whereby increased torque may be exerted on thescrewdriver blade, particularly in cramped locations.

The usual ratchet assembly comprises a relatively elongated screwdriverblade extending from one end of a ratchet assembly and ahandle extendingfrom the other end of said assembly, all arranged in substantially coaxially aligned relation. By means of a control button in the ratchetassembly, t he blade may be locked to turn with the handle in bothdirections or may be selectively conditioned to turn with the handle inone selected direction but to be free of rotation with the handle in theopposite direction. The handle is usually a generally cylindricalelement of plastic composition, wood or metal, which may have itssurface fluted, ribbed, or otherwise formed to provide a good grippingsurface.

With this standard or customary arrangement, a fair degree of torque maybe exerted upon the blade of the screwdriver, provided the clearanceconditions are such that the user can obtain a good grip on the handlewith suflicient room for swinging the arm. However, in, crampedlocations, such as corners or the like, it is very difiicult to exert aneffective torque on the screwdriver blade. This is a particularlyimportant problem, as ratchet type screwdrivers find their mostimportant application in just such cramped locations.

In accordance with the present invention, an improved handleconstruction is provided for ratchet type screwdrivers whereby aneffective torque may be exerted upon the screwdriver blade, particularlyin such cramped locations, as in corners and the like. Morespecifically, the ratchet screwdriver of the present invention comprisesa ratchet assembly having a blade extending coaxially from one endthereof. A handle is secured to and extends from the opposite end of theassembly and is bent, curved or otherwise off-set so that its outer endis 1'8. dially off-set from the common axis of the ratchet as sembly andthe blade. By virtue of this radial off-setting of the outer end of thehandle which, in effect, forms a pistol type grip for the screwdriver, agreatly increased torque can be exerted on the screwdriver blade at anytime, and particularly in cramped locations such as closely adjacentcorners of a room or the like. The off-set of the handle does notpresent any problem, as the handle need be moved only through arelatively short are during each actuation of the screwdriver blade, thehandle being thus oscillated back and forth through this short arc.

Consequently, there is no problem of clearance of the bent or offsethandle with respect to the walls or the like forming the corner.

The handle is preferably extruded of a plastic composition material,which is preferably thermoplastic, and of which a suitable example iscellulose acetate. The handle, thus extruded, is then heated and bent.This bending operation deforms the previously rectilinear and generallycylindrical cross section handle to provide a short inner section whichis coaxial with the ratchet assembly and an outer section which isoff-set radially from the common axis of the ratchet assembly and thescrewdriver blade. This off-set portion may be curved or may bestraight, as desired. Also, the outer end of the handle may be roundedoff and provided with medial flattened wings projecting rearwardly andlaterally from the outer end and preferably coplanar. Alternatively, thehandle, or at least the outer portion thereof, may be flattened to, forexample, an oval cross-section. The resultant handle may be referred togenerally as forming a pistol-type grip.

For an understanding of the invention principles, reference is made tothe following description of a typical embodiment thereof as illustratedin the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a ratchet screwdriver embodying theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the screwdriver shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view looking at the outer end of the handle of thescrewdriver shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing, the ratchet screwdriver therein illustratedcomprises a ratchet assembly 10, a screwdriver blade 15, and a handle20. Blade 15 is secured in one end of ratchet assembly 10 to extendcoaxially therefrom in the usual manner of ratchet screwdrivers. As iswell-known to those skilled in the art, the ratchet assembly 10 includesa button 11 which is movable to any one of three positions. This button10 is movable in a slot 11 having longitudinally spaced pairs oflaterally aligned notches 13, 14 and 1-6. When button 11 is engaged inthe central notches 14, the blade 15 is locked to handle 20 so that itwill turn with the handle in either direction of movement of the latter.When the button 11 is moved to either the notches 13 or the notches 16,the blade 15 will move with the handle when the latter is turned in onedirection, but is not constrained to move with the handle when thelatter is turned in the reverse direction. For example, one of thenotches 13 or 16 will lock the blade 15 to turn with the handle 20 whenthe latter is turned clockwise, and when the button '11 is engaged inthe other set of notches 13 or 16, the blade 15 will be locked to turnwith the handle 20 when the latter is turned in the counter-clockwisedirection.

The handle 20 may be made of any suitable material, such as wood ormetal, but preferably is extruded plastic composition material bent tothe configuration illustrated in the drawing. In any event, the handlehas an inner portion, which is relatively short, and which is secured tothe end of ratchet assembly 10 opposite the end thereof to which issecured the blade 15. Portion 21 extends generally coaxially withratchet assembly 10 and blade 15. At a relatively short distance fromthe end of ratchet assembly 10, the handle 20 is bent radially outwardlyat a relatively small angle to the axis of the ratchet assembly and theblade, to provide an outer portion 22 which is offset relative to theaforementioned axis. The bending may be done in such a manner thatportion 22 is substantially straight, but preferably the portion 22 isgently curved in a longitudinal direction. The outer end of portion 22is generally rounded off, as indicated at 23, and may be formed withmedial flattened wings 24, of substantial thickness, and which projectrearwardly and laterally from outer end 23. Alternatively, at least theouter portion of the handle may be flattened, for example, to an ovalcross-section. The general shape of the handle 20 is that of apistol-type grip.

Preferably, the handle 20 is extruded from a thermoplastic material,such as cellulose acetate. The extruded handle is then bent to the shapeindicated in the drawing and. during the bending, the outer end 23 isrounded off as described and formed with the wings 24. The handle may,at the same time, be molded into integral relation with the ratchetassembly 10, in the manner indicated, for example, at 25. Alternatively,the completely formed handle may be later attached to the ratchetassembly in any known manner.

The described construction provides a ratchet type screwdriver withwhich greatly increased torque may be exerted on the screwdriver bladedue to the pistol type of grip provided by the handle 20. This handleconstruction is particularly advantageous when the ratchet screwdriveris used in cramped locations, as in corners or the like, where ratchetscrewdrivers find their greatest application.

While'a specific embodiment of the invention'has been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the inventionprinciples, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

A ratchet screwdriver comprising, in combination, a ratchet assemblyselectively adjustable between an intermediate locking position andeither one of a pair of opposed one-way drive positions; a rigidrectilinear blade permanently and fixedly connected to and extending'c'oaxially and rectilinearly from one end of said-assembly; and aone-piece integrally molded handle, of substantially circular anduniform cross section throughout its length, having a relatively shortinner end permanently and fixedly. secured to, and extendingsubstantially coaxially from, the'opposite end of said ratcheta'ssembly,the outer end of said handle being relatively elongated and beinggently'curved radially outwardly from thecommon axis of said assembly,said blade and the inner end of said handle, so that the extreme outerend of said handle extends at a relatively small acute angle to saidcommon axis to provide a pistol type grip for exerting greater torque onsaid blade, directly about said common axis, through said ratchetassembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,003,098 Flora Sept. 12, 1911 1,410,521 Thomson Mar. 21, 1922 1,456,692Hargrave May 29, 1923 2,417,946 Prentice Mar. 25, 1947 2,486,043 LofgrenOct. 25, 1949 2,712,765 Knight July 12, 1955 20 2,917,092 Wetty Dec.15,1959

FOREIGN PATENTS 493,063 Great Britain Se t-30, 193s

